r/Catholic

I'm kind of lost with which public Catholic figures to follow and trust. I really like bishop Barron even though he may have some issues. Fr. Chris Alar too.

But I can't tell if Fr. Mike Schmitz is trustworthy because of what my friend said made me doubt but I'm sad because I really like him.

My friend, who is very wise and knowledgeable and Catholic, told me not to listen to him and that he is very prideful and lacking in wisdom which influences his teachings, but I still think he has good things to offer. I know even knowledgeable people can be wrong sometimes so I don't know if my friend is right.

I'm really confused on how to discern which people I should trust to listen to about my Catholic faith.

I find a problem where on a few issues where sometime the popes talk about I find myself not agreeing with what the pope says will happen if we do x, mainly things like death penalty

Like I always agree with the initial statement that life is worth protecting but when I try to pray that the death penalty doasent save life I feel like I’m fooling myself

How do you deal with that? Is anyone here feeling similar issues?

Pope Leo XIV has spoken out strongly.

As has Archbishop Coakley as head of the USCCB and numerous other US bishops.

Usually Bishop Barron is the first to speak out publicly on social issues diving Catholics and the Church in the US.

Why is he dead silent when the Holy Father and other leading US bishops have spoken out strongly?

He is undergoing lung surgery this week for a solitary pulmonary nodule. If this is malignant, his prognosis is still excellent based on the information we’ve been given, but I still worry for him. Prayers for him that he comes through surgery. prayers that his pathology is good, and prayers for his medical team as they care for him. Prayers for all cancer patients and their families.

I am a Protestant, who has attended Evangelical churches all my life.

I always grew up with the belief that The Lord's Supper was merely symbolic, simply the way in which Christians commemorate/celebrate sacrifice for us on the cross.

However, recently I have been looking into church history and I am feeling a real pull towards the belief in the real presence in communion. I know that this is something that mainline protestant churches believe. I'm not quite sure yet about transubstantiation, although I would love to hear more of the Catholic argument.

As someone who aims to honour Jesus, should I partake in communion at my church which holds a memorialist view? Even if I believe in the real presence.

I have a Catholic friend who urges me not to take communion at my church (he argues that the priest needs to consecrate the substances), and I have strongly Evangelical friends who remind me that it's technically an "open communion". Does anyone have any advice for me?

Praise God for a platform like this where Christians can share our faith and ideas together. Thank you so much in advance for any answers.

I’m interested in the Catholic faith. I’ve grown up going to a non-denominational church. However, I’ve watched a Catholic service online that’s local to me. The one thing I don’t understand is why did everybody drink from the same cup during communion? It seems very unsanitary, and in the church that I go to, they typically give out communion in these tiny little thimble plastic cups. The only disinfection I saw was they use some white cloth to rub the gold plated cup. Is this something that has to be done in the Catholic faith, or can you ask for exceptions.

Hi! I have a few genuine questions for Catholics about the doctrines of Mary’s perpetual virginity and sinlessness, and I’d love to understand your perspective.

Why does Mary need to have been sinless to be worthy of honor and importance? If Mary could be sinless, how does that fit with the idea that humanity needs Jesus as a Savior? Wouldn’t her sinlessness raise the question of whether it’s possible for someone to be without sin without needing a Savior? And if the argument is that God preserved her from sin, couldn’t that same God ensure that Jesus was born without sin regardless of whether Mary herself was sinful?

Why must Mary have remained a virgin for her entire life? If Mary and Joseph were truly married, wouldn’t their marriage traditionally have been consummated through sexual relations? If they never had sex, how do Catholics understand their marriage and what it means for a marriage to be consummated?

I’m not asking these questions to disrespect Mary or dismiss her importance. I understand that Catholics hold her in very high regard, and I respect that. I’m genuinely trying to understand the biblical and theological reasoning behind these doctrines, especially since I interpret some of these things differently. I’d appreciate thoughtful explanations!

Hello! The TechnoCatholic podcast has already launched and is steadily climbing. I wanted to post the invite for the companion Discord server here. I aim to make it a chill place to talk about tech stuff as a Catholic, but for that I need some Catholic tech nerds. If you consider yourself one, please stop by!

https://discord.gg/HwGJVCnCUn

https://technocatholic.org

Please could you all pray for me.

For a blessing of employment and new beginnings

I genuinely have so much love and appreciation for Pope Leo XIV. ❤️✝️
From carrying the Cross himself through all 14 Stations at the Colosseum on Good Friday, the first pope in decades to do so. To travelling to places like Lebanon and bringing the Gospel wherever he goes, he is showing such courage and reverence for our faith. ✝️
And look at the young people! 80,000 gathered with him at the Stade de France in France, and he spoke to them about following Christ, prayer, virtue and holiness. He is reaching a generation that desperately needs to hear the Gospel again. ❤️
And last, but certainly NOT least, he has made it clear that the Church will not be moving towards formalised blessings of same-sex couples. The Church welcomes everyone, but Pope Leo is standing by the distinction between blessing individuals and treating a relationship as a marriage, because the Sacrament of Marriage is between a man and a woman.
I love seeing tradition, reverence and the beauty of Catholic teaching being held up so boldly. I genuinely believe Pope Leo XIV is going to be an incredibly important Pope for the Church, and I have such a feeling that God has placed him where he is for a reason. He’s my favourite Pope yet. ❤️‍🔥✝️

I reme.ber there is a passage that starts as "when 2 or more are gathered in prayer. . ." Essentially it delights the Lord when 2 or more of us unite and pray for the same things.

My question is is the "gathered" part of that heavily important? Like if a long distance friend and I pray for the same things at different times and in different places would it be as pleasing in the Lord's eye? Would it mean the same to Him? These are questions from someone struggling to find community, structure and a solid prayer routine but still trying.